Editing Flagstaff, Arizona (section)

==Arts and culture==
===Local culture===
{{see also|Downtown Flagstaff, Arizona#Culture}}
[[File:Downtown Flagstaff lit up for the Holidays.jpg|thumb|Weatherford Hotel with its pine cone and a countdown in December 2010|alt=Festively adorned building]]

Flagstaff has its own New Year's Eve tradition; in the city, people gather around the Weatherford Hotel as a {{convert|70|lb|kg|adj=on}}, {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=on}} tall, metallic [[Conifer cone|pine cone]] is dropped from the roof at midnight. The tradition originated in 1999, when Henry Taylor and Sam Green (owners of the hotel), decorated a garbage can with paint, lights, and pine cones, and dropped it from the roof of their building to mark the new millennium. By 2003 the event had become tradition, and the current metallic pine cone was designed and built by Frank Mayorga of Mayorga Welding in the city.<ref name="pineconedrop">Craven, Scott. "[http://www.azcentral.com/ent/calendar/articles/1228pinecone1229.html Dec. 31: New Year's Eve Block Party and Pinecone Drop] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070121055638/http://www.azcentral.com/ent/calendar/articles/1228pinecone1229.html |date=January 21, 2007 }}." ''[[Arizona Republic]].'' December 28, 2006. Retrieved July 19, 2007.</ref>

Local museums include the [[Museum of Northern Arizona]], which features displays of the biology, archeology, photography, anthropology, and native art of the Colorado Plateau, and the Arboretum at Flagstaff, a {{convert|200|acre|ha|adj=on}} [[arboretum]] containing 2,500 species of drought-tolerant native plants representative of the high desert region.<ref name="mna">"[http://www.musnaz.org/ Museum of Northern Arizona] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716210808/http://www.musnaz.org/ |date=July 16, 2007 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 14, 2007.</ref><ref name="arboretum">"[http://www.thearb.org/ The Arboretum at Flagstaff] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716211655/http://www.thearb.org/ |date=July 16, 2007 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 14, 2007.</ref>

A lot of the local culture is also focused on Route 66, which originally ran between Chicago and Los Angeles, greatly increased the accessibility to the area, and enhanced the culture and tourism in Flagstaff.<ref name="roadwanderer">"[http://www.theroadwanderer.net/RT66flagstaff.htm Route 66 in the Flagstaff Area] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515190923/http://www.theroadwanderer.net/RT66flagstaff.htm |date=May 15, 2007 }}." ''[http://www.theroadwanderer.net/ theroadwnaderer.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403090327/http://www.theroadwanderer.net/ |date=April 3, 2007 }}.'' 2003. Retrieved April 11, 2007.</ref> Route 66 remains a historic route, passing through the city between [[Barstow, California]], and [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]]. In early September, the city hosts an annual event, Route 66 Days, to highlight its connection to the famous highway.<ref name="rt66days">"[http://www.flagstaffroute66days.com/ Flagstaff Route 66 Days] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070627132020/http://www.flagstaffroute66days.com/ |date=June 27, 2007 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 14, 2007.</ref>

===Dark Sky City===
Flagstaff takes one of its nicknames from its designation as the world's first International Dark Sky City, with deliberate measures to reduce [[light pollution]] beginning in 1958<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://darksky.app.box.com/s/urqwpk16yumupbyhfek1evd6qihjc4k1|title=Flagstaff Annual Report 2018|website=darksky.app.box.com|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=April 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412234225/https://darksky.app.box.com/s/urqwpk16yumupbyhfek1evd6qihjc4k1|url-status=live}}</ref> supported by the environmentally-aware population and community advocates, government and elected officials, and the assistance of observatories in the area – including the United States Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station and Lowell Observatory.<ref>[http://www.flagstaffdarkskies.org Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110118055950/http://www.flagstaffdarkskies.org/ |date=January 18, 2011 }}. Flagstaffdarkskies.org (October 24, 2011). Retrieved December 3, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.coconino.az.gov/comdev.aspx?id=144&terms=lighting Coconino County Lighting and General Codes] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721032922/http://www.coconino.az.gov/comdev.aspx?id=144&terms=lighting |date=July 21, 2011 }}. Coconino.az.gov (January 7, 2008). Retrieved December 3, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://docs.darksky.org/AGM/2009/Luginbuhl.ppt Arizona IDA presentation on Lighting issues (PowerPoint)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706041538/http://docs.darksky.org/AGM/2009/Luginbuhl.ppt |date=July 6, 2010 }}. darksky.org.</ref><ref>[http://www.lowell.edu/ Lowell Observatory] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302233420/http://www.lowell.edu/ |date=March 2, 2011 }}. Lowell.edu. Retrieved December 3, 2011.</ref>

The city's designation as an International Dark Sky City was on October 24, 2001, by the [[International Dark-Sky Association]], after a proposal by the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition to start the recognition program. It is seen as a world precedent in dark sky preservation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.flagstaffdarkskies.org/international-dark-sky-city/|title=International Dark Sky City – Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=January 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118103304/http://www.flagstaffdarkskies.org/international-dark-sky-city/|url-status=live}}</ref> Before this, it had been nicknamed the "Skylight City" in the 1890s, the same decade that the Lowell Observatory was founded.<ref name=":1" /> In 1958, it passed Ordinance 400,<ref name=":0" /> which outlawed using large or powerful searchlights within city limits. In the 1980s a series of measures were introduced for the city and Coconino County, and the Dark Sky Coalition was founded in 1999 by Chris Luginbuhl and Lance Diskan. Luginbuhl is a former U.S. Naval astronomer,<ref name=":33">{{Cite web|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-science/2017/01/11/satellite-images-show-flagstaffs-dark-sky-success-national-park-service-says/96460962/|title=Satellite images show Flagstaff's dark-sky success, National Park Service says|website=The Arizona Republic|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=July 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719014435/https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-science/2017/01/11/satellite-images-show-flagstaffs-dark-sky-success-national-park-service-says/96460962/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Diskan had originally moved to Flagstaff from Los Angeles so that his children could grow up able to see stars, saying that "part of being human is looking up at the stars and being awestruck."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://darkskydiary.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/flagstaff-the-worlds-first-dark-sky-city/|title=Flagstaff: The World's First Dark Sky City|date=October 2, 2011|website=Dark Sky Diary|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=March 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328142424/https://darkskydiary.wordpress.com/2011/10/02/flagstaff-the-worlds-first-dark-sky-city/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was reported that even though greater restrictions on types of public lighting were introduced in 1989,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flagstaffarizona.org/about-flagstaff/at-a-glance/dark-skies/|title=Dark Skies|website=Flagstaff, Arizona CVB|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=March 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328185409/https://www.flagstaffarizona.org/about-flagstaff/at-a-glance/dark-skies/|url-status=live}}</ref> requiring them all to be low-emission, some public buildings like gas stations hadn't updated by 2002, after the Dark Sky designation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www2.lowell.edu/users/wes/GriffithObserver1crop.pdf|title=Flagstaff's Battle for Dark Skies|website=Griffith Observer|access-date=January 16, 2019|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412175157/http://www2.lowell.edu/users/wes/GriffithObserver1crop.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Flagstaff and the surrounding area is split into four zones, each permitted different levels of light emissions. The highest restrictions are in south and west Flagstaff (near NAU and its observatory), and at the Naval, Braeside, and Lowell Observatories.<ref name=":2" /> Photographs detecting emissions taken in 2017 show that Flagstaff's light is 14 times less than another Western city of comparable size, [[Cheyenne, Wyoming]], which Luginbuhl described as "even better than [they] might have expected".<ref name=":33" />

===Arts===
Flagstaff has an active cultural scene. The city is home to the [[Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra]], which plays concerts from September through April at Ardrey Auditorium on the NAU campus.<ref name="flagsymphony">"[http://www.flagstaffsymphony.org/about.php History of the FSO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150816021313/http://www.flagstaffsymphony.org/about.php|date=August 16, 2015}}." [[Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra]]. Retrieved April 11, 2007.</ref> The city also attracts folk and contemporary acoustic musicians, and offers several annual music festivals during the summer months, such as the Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music Festival, the Flagstaff Music Festival, and Pickin' in the Pines, a three-day bluegrass and acoustic music festival held at the Pine Mountain Amphitheater at Fort Tuthill Fairgrounds.<ref name="tradmusic">"[http://www.ffotm.net/ Flagstaff Friends of Traditional Music] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702003248/http://www.ffotm.net/ |date=July 2, 2007 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 18, 2007.</ref><ref name="flagmusic">"[http://www.flagstaffmusicfestival.com/ Flagstaff Music Festival] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070718174614/http://www.flagstaffmusicfestival.com/ |date=July 18, 2007 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 18, 2007.</ref><ref name="pickinpines">"[http://www.pickininthepines.org Pickin' in the Pines – Bluegrass and Acoustic Music Festival] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716090855/https://pickininthepines.org/ |date=July 16, 2021 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 18, 2007.</ref> Popular bands play throughout the year at the Orpheum Theater, and free concerts are held during the summer months at Heritage Square.<ref name="thurssquare">"[http://thursdaysonthesquare.com/ Thursdays on the Square] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719140733/http://thursdaysonthesquare.com/ |date=July 19, 2013 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 18, 2007.</ref> 

Beyond music, Flagstaff has a popular theater scene, featuring several groups. Northern Arizona University's Department of Theatre produces productions for the community as well as the campus.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} The department has won awards, including multiple invitations to the [[Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} NAU Theatre performs in two facilities: the Clifford E. White Theatre (named for long-time professor Clifford E. White) and the Studio Theatre. Both facilities are housed in the Fine and Performing Arts Building on campus.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} A local community theater company called Theatrikos was founded in 1972 in the basement of the Weatherford Hotel, and today puts on six major productions per year. In 2002, the company moved into a new venue now known as the Doris-Harper White Community Playhouse, a downtown building which was built in 1923 as an [[Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks|Elks Lodge]] and later became the Flagstaff library.<ref name="theatrikos">"[http://www.theatrikos.com/abouttheatrikoshome.html Theatrikos: A Brief History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009222647/http://www.theatrikos.com/abouttheatrikoshome.html |date=October 9, 2007 }} ." ''[http://www.theatrikos.com/ theatrikos.com] .'' Retrieved on July 18, 2007.</ref> Since 1995, the Flagstaff Light Opera Company has performed a variety of musical theater and light opera productions throughout the year at the Sinagua Middle School auditorium.<ref name="FLOC">"[http://www.thefloc.org/ Flagstaff Light Opera Company] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016094523/http://www.thefloc.org/ |date=October 16, 2015 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 18, 2007.</ref> There are several dance companies in Flagstaff, including Coconino Community College Dance Program, Northern Arizona Preparatory Company and Canyon Movement, which present periodic concerts and collaborate with the Flagstaff Symphony for free concerts during the summer and holiday seasons.<ref name="canyonmovement">"[http://www.canyonmovementcompany.org Canyon Movement Company] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130192457/https://canyonmovementcompany.org/ |date=November 30, 2020 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 18, 2007.</ref>{{Verify source|date=April 2020}}

A variety of weekend festivals occur throughout the year. The annual Northern Arizona Book Festival, held in the spring, brings together authors to read and display their works.<ref name="books">[http://www.nazbookfest.org/wp/ Northern Arizona Book Festival] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102052600/http://www.nazbookfest.org/wp/ |date=November 2, 2015 }} Retrieved August 10, 2012.</ref> The Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival is held every October, and features a variety of independent films and documentaries focusing on extreme sports, environmental issues, and global topics. The festival is four days long and consists of several sessions of films. The screenings are held at the Orpheum Theater in the historic downtown area.<ref name="filmfest">"[http://www.flagstaffmountainfilms.com/ Four Spectacular Days of Films] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630150331/http://www.flagstaffmountainfilms.com/ |date=June 30, 2007 }} (website)." Retrieved on July 18, 2007.</ref> The summer months feature several festivals, including Hopi and Navajo Festivals of Arts and Crafts,{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} the Arizona Highland Celtic Festival,{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} Pride in the Pines,<ref name="napride">{{cite web|url=http://northernazpride.org/about-2/|title=History|website=northernazpride.org|access-date=June 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619055457/http://northernazpride.org/about-2/ <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=June 19, 2009}}</ref> and the Made in the Shade Beer Tasting Festival.<ref name="madeintheshade">{{cite web|url=http://www.azbeer.com/flagstaff.htm|title=Made in the Shade Beer Tasting Festival|website=azbeer.com|access-date=June 26, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615145515/http://www.azbeer.com/flagstaff.htm|archive-date=June 15, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> For more than 20 years Flagstaff has hosted the 10-day Flagstaff Festival of Science in September. It is a family event which features open houses, lectures, informal talks, and hands-on activities at area museums, observatories, other scientific facilities, and the university. In-school programs also are an important part of the festival. The festival begins with the annual [[Eugene Merle Shoemaker|Eugene Shoemaker]] keynote address. Guest speakers have included famous astronauts, arctic explorers, storm chasers, and scientists from many disciplines.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}} The Coconino County Fair is held every September at the Fort Tuthill County Fairgrounds, featuring a [[demolition derby]], livestock auction, carnival rides, and other activities.<ref name="summerfests">Miller, Cindy. "[http://www.azcentral.com/travel/visitor/attractions/articles/0616festivalsonline.html Summer's worth of festival fun] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220110505/http://www.azcentral.com/travel/visitor/attractions/articles/0616festivalsonline.html |date=February 20, 2007 }}." ''[[Arizona Republic]].'' June 18, 2006. Retrieved July 18, 2007.</ref>

===Historic districts and properties===
{{main|List of historic properties in Flagstaff, Arizona}}

Flagstaff is home to seven [[National Register of Historic Places]] historic districts: Southside,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=c4b3b058-f316-4fba-bb4f-62a510d0ac44|title=Flagstaff Southside Historic District|website=npgallery.nps.gov|access-date=April 12, 2020|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203081253/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=c4b3b058-f316-4fba-bb4f-62a510d0ac44|url-status=live}}</ref> Townsite,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=235dfd5f-0176-41b2-8d4e-6cdd3b2954db|title=Flagstaff Townsite Historic Residential District|website=npgallery.nps.gov|access-date=April 12, 2020|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203065137/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=235dfd5f-0176-41b2-8d4e-6cdd3b2954db|url-status=live}}</ref> Fort Tuthill,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=3efcc6b7-373b-4e15-9048-4b7ca2b3c357|title=Fort Tuthill Historic District|website=npgallery.nps.gov|access-date=April 12, 2020|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201162139/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=3efcc6b7-373b-4e15-9048-4b7ca2b3c357|url-status=live}}</ref> North End,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=ba6d44cf-54ab-404f-9a94-899ec1dc36bc|title=North End Historic Residential District|website=npgallery.nps.gov|access-date=April 12, 2020|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201160633/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=ba6d44cf-54ab-404f-9a94-899ec1dc36bc|url-status=live}}</ref> Northern Arizona Normal School,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=0d2c69ad-9c75-4336-aa47-8aa5a1294213|title=Northern Arizona Normal School Historic District|website=npgallery.nps.gov|access-date=April 12, 2020|archive-date=November 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130055335/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=0d2c69ad-9c75-4336-aa47-8aa5a1294213|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Railroad Addition Historic District (Flagstaff, Arizona)|Railroad Addition]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=60467723-3524-4018-ad60-d2e5910af66c|title=Railroad Addition Historic District|website=npgallery.nps.gov|access-date=April 12, 2020|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201160021/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=60467723-3524-4018-ad60-d2e5910af66c|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Rocky Mountain Research Station|USFS Fort Valley Experimental Forest]] Station,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=0deb0fd2-fd95-441b-a72d-5e66f266a401|title=USFS Fort Valley Experimental Forest Station Historic District|website=npgallery.nps.gov|access-date=April 12, 2020|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203084311/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=0deb0fd2-fd95-441b-a72d-5e66f266a401|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as a variety of many other structures and areas. The Lowell Observatory is a [[National Historic Landmark]].<ref name=":11" />